Usually, in manufacturing a loaf of bread, bread dough is cut in a suitable size and placed in a rectangular parallelepiped baking mold. Then it is baked in an oven after a final fermenting of the bread dough with yeast.
Generally, the quality of the internal structure of a loaf of bread that is baked in an oven is dependent on the form and direction of the bread dough that is placed in a rectangular parallelepiped baking mold. Thus, research has been continued to improve the methods of placing bread dough.
Various placing methods are well known. For example, after a block of bread dough is extended and shaped into sheets, these sheets are rolled cylindrically (a bar-like form) by a molding machine, etc. Then, the rolled bread dough is curved and formed into a V-shape (disclosed in reference No. 1) and is placed in a rectangular parallelepiped baking mold. Placing methods for forming an M-shape (disclosed in reference No. 2), having an alternate placing direction for rolled bread dough (disclosed in reference No. 3), having a straight placing direction along a rectangular parallelepiped baking mold without any curving (disclosed in reference Nos. 4 and 5), and adding a twist to rolled bread dough (disclosed in reference No. 6) are also used so as to attain high-quality a loaf of bread.
The references described above are as follows:
(1) Reference No. 1: Japanese Patent Gazette No. 61-19215. (See paragraph 7 and FIG. 1.)
(2) Reference No. 2: Japanese Utility Model Laid-open No. 60-62281. (See FIGS. 1-5.)
(3) Reference No. 3: Japanese Patent Gazette No. 8-4446. (See FIG. 10.)
(4) Reference No. 4: Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 11-127806. (See claim 1 and FIG. 2.)
(5) Reference No. 5: Japanese Patent No. 2876515. (See FIGS. 2, 3, and 4.)
(6) Reference No. 6: Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2001-299259. (See claim 1.)